by Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY Sports

by Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY Sports

Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez has agreed to a seven-year, $175 million contract that should be finalized before spring training, making him the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history, a person familiar with the contract details told USA TODAY Sports.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the contract is not yet official.

Hernandez was scheduled to earn $19.5 million in 2013 and $20 million in '14. Instead, his new contract will take effect this season and pay him a record average annual value of $25 million through 2019.

Hernandez's contract trumps CC Sabathia's seven-year, $161 million deal, signed before the 2009 season, as the richest ever for a pitcher. Hernandez's average annual salary of $25 million trumps the $24.5 million that Zack Greinke will receive annually from the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a six-year, $147 million deal signed in December.

Hernandez signed a five-year, $78 million deal in January 2010 and backed up the Mariners' investment by winning the 2010 American League Cy Young Award, despite winning just 13 games. He produced a 2.27 ERA and struck out 232 in 249 innings, and extended his string of 200-strikeout seasons to four this season. He further established his place in Mariners lore by pitching a perfect game Aug. 15.

Hernandez, who turns 27 in April, made his major league debut at 19, and he'll be just 33 when the contract expires.

The Mariners have had just one winning season since Hernandez debuted in 2005, and in recent years the club has had to weigh whether to give him a contract extension or trade him for rebuiliding purposes.

However, the club never entertained trade talks and have been aiming to sign him to an extension. And in 2015, Hernandez will eclipse the 10-year service time plateau, effectively giving him a no-trade clause for the balance of this deal.